“We are excited to see the continued growth of 3G and 4G smart phones, as well as new mobile computing devices,” said Chief Executive Paul Jacobs in a statement.

Qualcomm saw growth in both developing countries such as China as well as developed countries such as the U.S., where it has won business with some popular phone makers including Apple.

Jacobs added that the company is increasing spending as it expands production of the next generation of smaller wireless chips. It’s experiencing supply constraints that has hampered its ability to meet demand for these advanced chips.

Even so, Qualcomm boosted its profit forecast for its fiscal year to $3.61 to $3.76 per share. Previously, it expected to earn $3.55 to $3.75 for its fiscal year.

“We believe global smart phone trends are strong, with (voice and text) phones transitioning to smart phones in emerging markets and an upcoming ramp of LTE smart phones driving strong demand for Qualcomm’s S4 Snapdragon chipsets,” said Michael Walkley, an analyst with Canaccord Genuity, in a research note prior to earnings.

The company makes modem chips – which receive wireless signals – that are used in smart phones, tablets and other devices. It also makes other chips such as its Snapdragon application processors, which are brains behind wireless devices. Snapdragon shipments have increased 70 percent year over year.

In addition, Qualcomm licenses its technology to other companies, for which it receives royalties for each device sold.

The company shipped 152 million modem chips in the quarter, up 29 percent from the prior year. Qualcomm expects 795 million 3G and 4G devices will ship in 2012 worldwide, up from 783 million devices that the company previously estimated.

The company ended the quarter with $26.6 billion in cash.

Qualcomm released results Wednesday after markets closed. Its shares ended trading down 25 cents at $66.99 on the Nasdaq.